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Topic: Low cost dog supplies? (Read 6538 times)

I can't believe I'm saying this: I'm going to get a dog! I have wanted a dog for many years, and it's finally happening! I know it's not the most mustachian thing to have a pet, but it's happening, so there's no point debating that part. As long as I'm going to have to spend money on my pooch, though, I want to do it as efficiently as possible.

For all of the recurring expenses - food, frontline, heartworm meds, and all the rest - where do you get your supplies and how much should I expect to pay?

An important point is that I don't have the dog yet, I'm just preparing. I'll be adopting a small adult, hopefully 2-4 years old and 10-20 pounds.

Frontline I get from costco, which is the cheapest I've found. 120 a year (depends on dogs size)

Heart worm I just do from the vet, I get a coupon about once a year for 50$ off. I think 200 a year, 150 with coupon.

Don't skimp on the food. Fromm or Orijen is the best for food and if a smaller dog, this is what I would do. I also advocate raw feeding, but it's not for everyone. 40-80 a month (depends on dogs size)

Leashes and Collars - Elite K9 ASAT Leash I buy the ASAT (biothane) leashes and collars. They look and feel like leather, but in reality it's a coated nylon web. Strong, durable, soft on the hands, doesn't stretch or rot like real leather, and doesn't rip your hands like nylon. There are also biothane products on amazon in all sorts of colors, I just like elitek9. 35$ for a good collar and leash.

Toys is really up to you. Don't go crazy, most dogs are happy chewing on dirty socks. Buy a ball on a string and a frisbee and your dog will be happy as a clam. I don't do tennis balls as they can be bad for their teeth. Nylabones and raw marrow bones are great for chewing, but limit the amount they get to chew it as it can damage their teeth over time.

I will leave others to opine on the food and meds, since it is years since I have had dogs and I'm sure things have changed since then. I will talk about toys and beds, though. I used old folded quilts for dog beds and ratty tennis balls for toys. I got the tennis balls from tennis-playing friends. My dogs were always perfectly happy with these and ignored the fabulously expensive toys and custom beds my mother bought for them. The advantage of the quilts is that you can throw them in the washer when they get grubby. When I went on a decorating binge at one point, I sewed a cover for the quilt and threw that in the washer, too. For treats, there are lots of recipes on the Internet.

Costco is good for flea medicine BUT Frontline is not very effective where I am. I've used 800petmeds before. I've also gotten beds from Costco: he/she probably only needs one. My dog loves sleeping on blankets, towels etc., so I stopped buying beds.

Amazon.com usually has good deals on food, cheaper than the chain stores like Petco. Treats are super cheap too.

I have a small dog so she's not as expensive. But really, aside from some initial stuff (bed, food bowls, leash, collar, tags, etc.) she is not too much money on a yearly basis. Most expensive thing was probably a crate (which I don't even use much) since I bought it new. If I were to do it again I'd buy one off Craigslist!

Have you considered fostering? I work with a local breed-specific rescue group. When dogs are surrendered to them, they are placed in a boarding facility at a vet office. Fosters care for dogs in their home and report back to the rescue on the dogs' habits, behavior, etc. to increase their adoption potential. I buy food for the dogs (although the rescue offers reimbursement, I think of it as my donation) but all the meds are arranged through the vet/rescue, not my pocket. I was recommended Natural Balance food and they've enjoyed it. It is a couple bucks cheaper on Amazon than at Petco.

I've wanted a dog for a while but am not really in a position to have a "dog emergency fund" for any emergency visits or surgeries. Fostering fit the bill for me and I've enjoyed it this past year.

Have you considered fostering? I work with a local breed-specific rescue group. When dogs are surrendered to them, they are placed in a boarding facility at a vet office. Fosters care for dogs in their home and report back to the rescue on the dogs' habits, behavior, etc. to increase their adoption potential. I buy food for the dogs (although the rescue offers reimbursement, I think of it as my donation) but all the meds are arranged through the vet/rescue, not my pocket. I was recommended Natural Balance food and they've enjoyed it. It is a couple bucks cheaper on Amazon than at Petco.

I've wanted a dog for a while but am not really in a position to have a "dog emergency fund" for any emergency visits or surgeries. Fostering fit the bill for me and I've enjoyed it this past year.

Also note if the rescue program you are working with is properly registered as a charity organization, all expenses you incur are tax deductible. So keep receipts for food, toys, meds, or anything esle you have to pay for.

When I first got a dog, I ordered all of his supplies from a large wholesale online company (petedge specifically, but I'm sure that there are others). I looked up some of the items at my local store and found them to be around 3x the price of what I'd gotten them for online -- I'd definitely recommend it. You don't get quite the discount that you would get if you were buying 10+ of each item, but you still save a significant amount of money.

I'll second (third?) Costco for basics (including the Kirkland dry pet food, which all of my parents dogs have done well with, and which, based on the reviews I can find, is a decent step higher than standard pet food while not being the price of vet-sold pet food).

Something I would highly recommend spending money on upfront: a good dog trainer (for you AND the dog). It's much easier to train good habits into everyone upfront than to have issues in a year and spend significantly more time/effort/$ fixing them.

One caution for new dog beds - many are filled with cedar chips, but some dogs are highly sensitive to the smell. My old dog refused to go near cedar filled beds and would whine and refuse to use it. Our vet clued us in, and we had no problems as soon as we switched to cedar-free.

I'm hoping to skip the dog bed - I'd like the dog to sleep in my bed with me. I know that's not for everyone, but it's my preference.

For many reasons, I'd rather have my own dog than foster a dog. That said, I think that fostering rescues is wonderful, and I intend to adopt a fostered rescue dog.

I like the idea about getting a crate on craigslist - I'll definitely check on that!

I don't have a Costco membership, but I'm starting to wonder if it would be worth the cost to get one. Maybe I could split it with a friend. I live alone in an apartment, so I don't have the room to store most things I'd buy there, and I can't go through the perishables fast enough. If you were only buying dog stuff at Costco, would you want a membership?

I'm hoping to skip the dog bed - I'd like the dog to sleep in my bed with me. I know that's not for everyone, but it's my preference.

For many reasons, I'd rather have my own dog than foster a dog. That said, I think that fostering rescues is wonderful, and I intend to adopt a fostered rescue dog.

I like the idea about getting a crate on craigslist - I'll definitely check on that!

I don't have a Costco membership, but I'm starting to wonder if it would be worth the cost to get one. Maybe I could split it with a friend. I live alone in an apartment, so I don't have the room to store most things I'd buy there, and I can't go through the perishables fast enough. If you were only buying dog stuff at Costco, would you want a membership?

Do you have a car and does your Costco have a gas station? The savings from gas in my area (approx .50c a gallon) pay for the membership itself since I fill up once a week.

Just for pet supplies, no, Costco is not worth it. Mustachian tip: find a friend who has a Costco membership, get them to buy you a gift card (or multiple gift cards) and pay them back. Gift cards let you go into Costco and buy stuff w/o a membership. :)

Also note if the rescue program you are working with is properly registered as a charity organization, all expenses you incur are tax deductible. So keep receipts for food, toys, meds, or anything esle you have to pay for.

Do some research on dog food. I would definitely not just get the cheapest stuff. Usually it has less nutritional value so your dog eats more (and poops more), it's less healthy, etc. But, that doesn't mean you'll have to break the bank either. Our dog has food allergies -- you know, I used to make fun of people who's pets had food allergies, it just seemed so manufactured. He can't eat chicken or he scratches himself bloody. So we buy a special fru-fru brand (Wellness) that's grain free and poultry free, and we still only spend $30/mo on his food (20 lb dog). We usually buy it from Amazon. Buying in bulk is super tempting, but be careful. We did this once and then ants found the bag... that was such a mess.

Toys - to start with we got a a couple toys, but nothing expensive. A squeaker toy, a chewing toy, a tug toy, and a fetch toy. $5 is the max I spend on toys. Squeakers die, but you can get replacements instead of buying new toys. We shopped the clearance bins for toys. And we got a toy and leash from ROSS dress for less. And to be honest, our dog LOVES cardboard. He hears when the last of the TP gets ripped off the roll and is SO excited to play with his TP roll (until he starts shredding it and then it gets recycled). Egg cartons, cereal boxes, kleenex boxes, toothpaste boxes... he loves them all. Our family also likes buying toys for our dog, so that's something to keep in mind. If you have gifty people in your life this could be a good outlet for them.

Leash/collar - we just have a nylon leash and a nylon collar. We still have the leash from when he was a puppy and it still works. We also have another leash that just showed up. I think my husband found it in a free box. It is handy having two leashes because often one is MIA for weeks at a time. I think our sock gnomes are branching out.

Flea meds - we found some on Amazon for super cheap... but sometimes some of the tubes were empty. So that was weird. Right now we're trying something "natural" for flea control: diatomaceous earth. It's working so far. We go to the dog park and it's still keeping them under control, but we also hose him off after we get home. If you do decide to go this route: DO NOT overdo it in your house. Use the duster and wear a dust mask. If you have allergies or asthma, it might be hard on you. I think it's been 3 months since we started and we notice fewer fleas than when he was on chemicals control.

Puppy Romps - This was SO fun. Our humane society has puppy romps once or twice a week. And once your guy has all his shots, you bring him down to learn how to socialize with other dogs. It's ADORABLE. There are puppies everywhere! It's by donation, so we spent $5 on it each time, but it was so much fun. We loved it, he loved it, and I think it really did help him behave appropriately when meeting dogs for the first time. And you can talk with the staff and they can give you pointers and advice.

Training - we did training through Petsmart. I think it was $100 for like 2 months. They use a combination of clicker and treat training. I think it was worthwhile. I've never had a dog, so I didn't really know how to train one. There's definitely some things (sit, stay, come) that are important safety things for your dog to know.

Dog door - If it is at all possible, I would get a dog door! House training was SO easy once we got that thing installed. We were using a bell (I hung a jingle bell from a ribbon around the back door knob). The dog would ring the bell and we'd let him out to do his business. It worked well, until the dog realized that if he just wanted to lay around outside, all he had to do was ring the bell. I LOVE our dog door. No accidents, and it's super convenient. And we can replace that door for $100, assuming we buy it brand new.

Carpet cleaner - we bought a small carpet shampooer, but a bottle of Resolve probably works just as well. Often we would use the resolve instead of the shampooer because it's really kind of gross. It sucks up the mess and then either you empty it immediately, every time, or the mess just hangs around in the shampooer...

Poop bags - We re-use vegetable bags as poop bags. But we also get poop-specific bags from Amazon. We run out of the re-purposed bags otherwise. And it's handy to be able to grab a whole roll when you go to the dog park or on a walk.

Gentle Leader - We never mastered lose leash walking. Our dog is a terrier and they are so focused and stubborn... He would pull so hard he'd be choking himself. We got a gentle leader and it's amazing. It looks kind of like a muzzle (there's a strap over the snout), but they can eat and drink and pant in it just fine. But when they pull, the leash is attached to their head, so it's super uncomfortable. He still pulls when the leash is on his collar, but as soon as the gentle leader goes on, it's like night and day. He hates it of course. He'll paw at it to try and get it off. Some dogs hate them so much they lay down and refuse to move, but our guy is too hyper to try that approach. We also got a harness from a neighbor and that works too. But the gentle leader is so small, it fits in a pocket, so it's really convenient. And I think it's faster to put on (once you figure out how).

Pay attention to the dogs that walk by your house. If you can, talk with their owners and and mention that you're going to be getting a dog. They may have old puppy stuff (tiny collars) that they don't need anymore. Or toys they bought for their dog that their dog ignores. Or treats that their dog refuses to eat (or can't due to allergies).

Good luck! Dogs definitely add some expense to your budget, but every time I come home he is just SO happy to see me. I love watching and playing with him. If I'm sad, just looking over at him makes me smile. And when he growls in his sleep... it is the cutest thing I've ever heard in my life. It's adorable. The joy I get from my dog is well worth it.

Definitely check some books out from your library about specific breeds. Different kinds of dogs act differently. Our dog follows us around the house. He always wants to know where we are. He will lay down right behind us while we're washing dishes or cooking and we'll literally trip over him. We're OK with that. But if that bothers you, don't get a Welsh Terrier!

Grooming! Start learning how to groom as he's a puppy. Clipping his toe nails and brushing his fur. Read up on how to groom for your particular dog breed. Our dog has hair instead of fur, so he's supposed to be hand stripped (you pull out the loose hairs with your hands). If you use clippers on this guy, it damages their hair and makes them go grey. Anyways, as you can imagine, it's crazy expensive to pay someone to do this. But, I can do it for free. It just takes a while. And he definitely had some funny looking "hair cuts" while I was getting a handle on how to do it. We always give him a treat after getting his nails clipped and his fur stripped. He knows that if he escapes and runs away, he doesn't get his treat until he comes back and I finish up on him.

Congrats on getting a dog! I've had dogs most of my life and each one has made me laugh every day, even during some very difficult circumstances. I've been in the middle of sobbing over the death of a loved one only to look up and see a happy little face and a tail wagging like crazy. They are a constant reminder of pure love and joy.

For me, relationship is key. I believe in using only positive training methods. That led me to Zak George. His FREE videos on youtube have made a tremendous difference in my relationship with our current dogs. Check out his playlist.

If you order online check to see if there are any promo codes. Between finding things on sale, free shipping and a promo code you can get stuff at a reasonable price. Good luck to you and please post a pic of your baby when you get him/her. These are our two little rescue boys :)

Some other ideas:May not apply for a single 10-20lb dog, but we cover our couch with a cheap, canvas painting dropcloth to save the upholstery.Toys depend on the dog's personality, which you will have to discover over time. One loves every kind of toy, especially balls and squeaky toys; the other HATES anything squeaky, only likes pull toys. So I ripped up some jeans and braided them to make one. Hubby also bought some heavy duty sailing rope at a nautical supply place and knotted the ends. Indestructible and way way cheaper than a "dog" rope.

ETA we pass a tennis court on our walks and sometimes get free tennis balls. I know they are supposed to be bad for the teeth, so we limit time chewing on them, but she loves some chase the ball. We once passed the court with people playing and when they saw her gazing longingly at the balls, they actually threw balls over the fence!

Crate train your dog - whether you intend to have your dog sleep in the crate long-term or not, getting your dog to know that his/her crate is a safe place for them will do wonders for the life of your dog. If they have surgery or are boarded for a weekend, they'll be in a crate. A crate should NEVER be used as punishment.

All new dog owners go crazy with toys - know what my pup loves most? Empty water bottles, socks, cardboard boxes, and the water catch tray that comes on the bottom of plastic planters/pots.

Avoid rawhide, it's not good for them and can be a choking hazard.

I know it's all a personal preference, but I'd shoot to have your dog sleep on the floor next to you, rather than with you. Everyone likes the idea of a dog sleeping with them - but dogs don't stay still. They roll, they kick, they get up and spin and lay back down - your sleep will be much better without a dog. Also - you may like having the dog in bed now, but (assuming you aren't already...) when a significant other comes along, they may not want to share the bed with you AND a dog.

Spend a lot of time training! Stop the jumping and pulling while on a leash NOW rather than trying to deal with it later!

Crate train your dog - whether you intend to have your dog sleep in the crate long-term or not, getting your dog to know that his/her crate is a safe place for them will do wonders for the life of your dog.

All new dog owners go crazy with toys - know what my pup loves most? Empty water bottles, socks, cardboard boxes, and the water catch tray that comes on the bottom of plastic planters/pots.

I know it's all a personal preference, but I'd shoot to have your dog sleep on the floor next to you, rather than with you. Everyone likes the idea of a dog sleeping with them - but dogs don't stay still. They roll, they kick, they get up and spin and lay back down - your sleep will be much better without a dog. Also - you may like having the dog in bed now, but (assuming you aren't already...) when a significant other comes along, they may not want to share the bed with you AND a dog.

Wanted to add - you may want your dog to sleep in bed. That is fine. However, just because a dog may have been trained to toilet outside, does not mean it will know and understand your home (where is ok to go, where is not) and the pup will have no way to tell you when they need to go. You don't know how long this dog can "hold it" either. Also changing diets and stress of moving can make reliable dog turn suddenly unreliable with toileting.

This means: everything in the first days to weeks should be the same as if you are house-training a new pup/dog. You need the crate BEFORE the dog joins the home. Do not invite dog into bed or furniture until you have several days (if not a whole week) of "no accidents" unless you enjoy doing lots of extra laundry and/or rolling in pee/poop in your bed and sleep.

Also use the canvas drop cloths on furniture! Our average monthly dog costs for the past 3 years (including boarding and some expensive dental work) have been $83/month. Love, companionship, and having an exercise buddy are priceless :) Enjoy your new pooch!

Do you have a car and does your Costco have a gas station? The savings from gas in my area (approx .50c a gallon) pay for the membership itself since I fill up once a week.

Just for pet supplies, no, Costco is not worth it. Mustachian tip: find a friend who has a Costco membership, get them to buy you a gift card (or multiple gift cards) and pay them back. Gift cards let you go into Costco and buy stuff w/o a membership. :)

It doesn't have a gas station, but that tip about the gift cards is priceless! Thanks so much! I know plenty of people who would be perfectly happy to buy me gift cards. Thanks!

Congrats on getting a dog! I've had dogs most of my life and each one has made me laugh every day, even during some very difficult circumstances. I've been in the middle of sobbing over the death of a loved one only to look up and see a happy little face and a tail wagging like crazy. They are a constant reminder of pure love and joy.

For me, relationship is key. I believe in using only positive training methods. That led me to Zak George. His FREE videos on youtube have made a tremendous difference in my relationship with our current dogs. Check out his playlist.

If you order online check to see if there are any promo codes. Between finding things on sale, free shipping and a promo code you can get stuff at a reasonable price. Good luck to you and please post a pic of your baby when you get him/her. These are our two little rescue boys :)

Your babies are adorable! I'm sure I'll have pics of him/her everywhere when the time comes. Yup, I'll definitely be one of *those* owners :)

Re no dog bed for OP, even if they sleep with you it can be good to have a place in the bedroom that is theirs alone. My dogs only occasionally are allowed to sleep on the bed, but even then they often choose their beds in the middle of the night. +1 on foster to own. A trial run, especially for a new owner, can be good.

ETA especially with a rescued adult dog, I think, give a dog a bed of his own for getting settled in. You may feel all cuddly from day 1, but remember the new place is a little scary, you are not insta-mommy to them. A place to be apart, get his bearings is good, but that can be a folded up quilt, doesn't need to be a fancy dog bed.

Eta 2 kudos on rescuing. Here are my muttowskis

Eta 3 yes ignore the fancy pre-MMM purchased recycled soda bottle filler granola dog bed. Although honestly these are GREAT beds, made in USA, washable, recycled filler, and have held up very well: westpawdesign, not cheap, but possibly buy it for life candidate

Good point about them needing their own space! I figured they might be in the crate at night during housebreaking, then join me in bed, but you're right, they need their own space. Your kids are adorable!

Oh wow, this is all so fantastic! Thanks so much everyone!!! I'm sure I'll have more questions later, but looking up all of this should keep me busy for a while :)

If any of you with rescues have advice on finding the right pup, feel free to share that, too. I have a list of criteria, but I'm not sure what to do besides calling a few local rescues and scouring petfinder.